Serna Bio Announces Scientific Advisory Board

Seasoned advisory group including RNA, translation and commercialisation luminaries. 

LONDON, Jan. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Serna Bio, an AI drug discovery company pioneering RNA-targeting small molecules, today announced the members of its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). Established in 2021, Serna Bio is a preclinical drug discovery company with lead programs in neuro metabolism and obesity. The company is backed by leading investors including but not limited to, Y-combinator, Hummingbird Ventures, and 50Years.

"We have established a truly differentiated platform to discover a novel class of small molecules - translational enhancers - and are using this to advance the development of therapies for diseases with no existing treatments, with a focus on genetically validated targets. The strength of our platform and IP has enabled us to surround ourselves with industry veterans with expertise in RNA Biology, preclinical RNA-small molecule research, clinical development and drug commercialisation. I am honoured to work with such an exceptional Scientific Advisory Board. They will be a force amplifier as we progress our lead assets toward the clinic and strengthen our pipeline," said Dr. Khan, MBA PhD. founder and CEO of Serna Bio

The Scientific Advisory Board includes leading academics such as Dr. Nahum Sonenberg, who identified and characterized various translation factors involved in translation initiation; Dr. Matthew Hayes, a world leader in obesity drug discovery; and Dr. Jay Schneekloth, an expert in RNA small molecule development. It also includes industry leaders, including Jeff Ajer, the former Chief Commercial Officer at BioMarin.

The advisors will draw on their considerable expertise and depth of experience to advise the company and its leadership team on scientific and strategic matters at the intersection of machine learning, RNA biology and drug discovery to help Serna Bio design next-generation small molecules to enhance translation for diseases caused by insufficient protein expression.

"Serna Bio has developed a unique approach to biological translation via a large library of next-generation small molecules targeting RNA, with the potential to improve outcomes for patients with a range of diseases otherwise not addressed by present therapies." said Giorgio Massimini, MD, "I am excited to work closely with Dr. Khan and her leadership team as the company builds on its discoveries and pursues its clinical aspirations."

"Many patients with rare genetic diseases continue to lack treatment options. With Serna Bio's ability to enhance translation, the company is opening up a new mechanism of action, enabling the development of much-needed medicines for the treatment of previously intractable diseases" said Nick France, MD

The full SAB comprises:

Jay Schneekloth Senior Investigator at National Cancer Institute (NCI). A pioneer in the identification of selective RNA and DNA binding small molecules. His work has led to the discovery that RNA targeting, druglike compounds are suitable starting points for inhibitor discovery efforts while driving fundamental advances in understanding RNA-small molecule recognition.

Giorgio Massimini formerly Vice President Merck KGaA. Over 30 years of experience in leading clinical research & development projects. He contributed to the development of MEK inhibitors, c-Met inhibitors, IDO/TDO inhibitors, MetAP2 inhibitors, DNA repair inhibitors, monoclonal antibodies and other tyrosine kinase inhibitors in the Merck Biopharma pipeline.

Nahum Sonenberg James McGill professor of biochemistry at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is best known for his seminal contributions to our understanding of translation and is notable for the discovery of the mRNA 5' cap-binding protein, eIF4E, the rate-limiting component of the eukaryotic translation apparatus.

Nick France Vice President, Global Therapeutic Area Head for Genomic Medicines and Neurology at Alexion. A physician-scientist and rare disease drug development leader. He has worked across the biopharma ecosystem developing diverse therapies for rare disease.

Jeff Ajer formerly Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at BioMarin. Mr. Ajer has more than 25 years of experience driving commercialisation for rare diseases and speciality medicines. He was integral in establishing BioMarin's commercial infrastructure and global footprint and played a leadership role in the launches and growth strategies for BioMarin's commercial brands.

Emily Freeman Senior Director, Global Medical Affairs, Patient Focused Implementation Science at Gilead Sciences. She is interested in the development of evidence-based communication tools to facilitate shared decision-making for patients. She has experience at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pfizer, Eli Lilly, AbbVie, and most recently Sanofi.

Matthew Hayes Albert J Stunkard Professor in Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania and Vice Chair for Basic and Translational Neuroscience Research in the Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Hayes is considered a leading expert on the neuroendocrine systems that regulate energy balance.

About Serna Bio

Serna Bio is an AI-enabled drug discovery company developing the next generation of small molecules to enhance translation. By targeting functional RNA structures, the company's proprietary discovery platform enables selective upregulation of the production of a protein of interest, using orally bio-available small molecules. Serna Bio's approach is a paradigm shift in drug discovery, moving from classical "inhibition" of protein function to protein enhancement. This novel approach unlocks the potential to treat a range of diseases intractable by classical drug discovery.

The company's programs are powered by a Generative AI discovery platform trained on proprietary RNA-small molecule datasets, enabling Serna Bio to generate molecules in novel chemical space, outperforming state-of-the-art methods such as NVIDIA MolMIMM for small molecules targeting RNA.

For more information about Serna Bio, please visit the company website at serna.bio or follow us on LinkedIn.

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